Publishers of technology books, eBooks, and videos for creative people

Home > Articles

This chapter is from the book

Using A/B mode to fine-tune a transition

When you review transition effect settings in the Effect Controls panel, you have access to an A/B editing mode that splits a single video track into two. What would normally be displayed as two consecutive and contiguous clips on a single timeline track are now displayed as individual clips on separate tracks, with a transition between them. Separating the elements of the transition in this way allows you to manipulate the head and tail frames (or handles) and to change other transition options.

Changing parameters in the Effect Controls panel

You can customize all transitions in Premiere Pro. A major benefit of the Effect Controls panel is that, in addition to it giving you access to the settings for transition effects, you can see the outgoing and incoming clip handles (unused media in the original clip). This makes it easier to adjust the timing of an effect.

Let’s modify a transition.

  1. In the Timeline panel, switch back to the Transitions sequence.

  2. Position the Timeline playhead over the Barn Doors transition you added between clips 2 and 3, and click the transition to select it.

  3. In the Effect Controls panel, select the box for Show Actual Sources to view frames from the actual clips.

    This makes it easier to assess the changes you’ll make.

  4. In the Effect Controls panel, open the Alignment menu, and choose Start At Cut.

    The transition in the Effect Controls panel timeline, and in the sequence, switches to show the new position.

    f0197-02.jpg
  5. Click the small Play The Transition button ecp_play_button.jpg at the upper-left corner of the Effect Controls panel to preview the transition beneath the button.

  6. Now change the transition duration. In the Effect Controls panel, click the blue numbers for the Duration, type 300, and click away from the numbers or press the Tab key to apply the new setting. Premiere Pro will add the correct punctuation automatically, changing 300 into 00:00:03:00—that is, 3 seconds.

    The Alignment menu changes to Custom Start because the effect now reaches beyond the beginning of the next transition effect. To make the new transition duration fit, Premiere Pro automatically sets its start two frames earlier.

    Examine the A/B timeline display in the Effect Controls panel timeline, at the right side of the panel. There is a zoom navigator at the bottom of the Effect Controls panel timeline that works just like the one in the Monitors and Timeline panel. Zoom out by dragging one of the circles on the navigator to make it longer, so you can see the ends of the clips.

    In this example, the Effect Controls panel playhead is centered on the cut, and you can see the way the effect timing has been adjusted automatically.

  7. In the Timeline panel, play through the transition to see the change.

    These automated adjustments can be subtle, so always double-check the results of new settings by playing through the effect. This way you can be sure you’re happy with the newly revealed media taken from the clip handles—the media that was hidden from view until you added the transition effect. Although it’s useful that Premiere Pro automatically modifies the timing of effects when necessary, it makes it even more important to check the transition before you move on.

    Now let’s customize the transition.

  8. In the Effect Controls panel timeline, hover the pointer over the middle part of the vertical black line that crosses all three layers (the two video clips and the transition effect between them). The line is the edit point between the two clips. If your pointer is correctly positioned, it will change to the red Rolling Edit tool.

    This edit line is close to the left edge of the effect, so you might want to zoom in to the Effect Controls panel timeline to conveniently make adjustments.

    In the Effect Controls panel, the Rolling Edit tool lets you reposition the timing of an edit between two clips by dragging the edit line.

  9. Still in the Effect Controls panel, drag left and right with the Rolling Edit tool. As you do, you’re changing the timing of the cut. The Out point of the clip on the left of the edit and the In point of the clip on the right of the edit update in the Timeline panel when you release the drag. This is a form of trimming.

    You’ll explore trimming in more detail in Lesson 8, “Editing Video—Advanced Techniques.”

  10. Move the pointer over the transition to the left or right of the edit line in the Effect Controls panel, and the pointer changes to the Slide tool. If there is a blue line, it’s the time ruler playhead.

    Using the Slide tool changes the start and end points of the transition without changing its overall duration. Unlike using the Rolling Edit tool, moving the transition rectangle by using the Slide tool does not change the edit point between the two sequence clips. Instead, it changes the timing of the transition effect.

  11. Use the Slide tool to drag the transition rectangle left and right and compare the results.

Using a Morph Cut effect

Morph Cut is a special transition effect that aims to be invisible. It’s designed to help with “talking head” video interviews, where a single speaker looks in the direction of the camera. If your subject pauses a lot or there is inappropriate content in the footage, you may want to remove a section of the interview.

This would normally produce a jump cut (when the image seems to jump suddenly from one piece of content to another), but with media that changes very little over time, and a little experimentation, the Morph Cut effect might yield an invisible transition that seamlessly hides what you have removed. Let’s try it.

  1. Open the sequence Morph Cut. Play the beginning of the sequence.

    This sequence has one clip, with a jump cut near the start. It’s a small jump cut but enough to jar the audience.

  2. In the Effects panel, look in the Video Transitions > Dissolve group for the Morph Cut effect. Drag this effect to the join between the two clips.

    The Morph Cut transition effect begins by analyzing the two clips. If the playhead is over the transition effect, you’ll see a banner across the screen while the analysis takes place, but you can continue to work on your sequence without waiting.

    Depending on your media, you may achieve improved results with the Morph Cut transition effect by experimenting with different durations.

  3. Double-click the Morph Cut transition effect to display the Set Transition Duration dialog box. Change the duration to 16 frames (you can double-click any transition effect to access this setting).

  4. When the analysis is complete, press Return/Enter to render the effect (if your system requires it) and play a preview.

    The result is not perfect, but it’s close, and it’s unlikely an audience will notice the join.

Dealing with inadequate (or nonexistent) head or tail handles

If you try to extend a transition for a clip that doesn’t have enough frames in the handle for the new duration of the effect, the transition still appears but has diagonal warning bars through it. This means Premiere Pro is using a freeze frame to extend the duration of the clip. The last available frame is held onscreen to complete the transition effect.

You can adjust the duration and position of the transition to resolve the issue.

  1. Open the sequence called Handles.

  2. Locate the edit between the two clips.

    These two sequence clips have no heads or tails. You can tell this immediately because of the little triangles in the corners of the clips; a triangle indicates the first or last frame of the original clip.

  3. Select the Ripple Edit tool ripple_edit_too.jpg in the Tools panel, and use it to drag the right edge of the first clip to the left (begin dragging just to the left of the cut between the two clips). Drag to shorten the duration of the first clip to about 1:10, and then release. A tool tip appears while you trim to show the new clip duration.

    The clip to the right of the edit point ripples (moves) left to close the gap. Notice that the little triangles at the end (the right edge) of the clip you just trimmed are no longer present.

  4. Drag the Cross Dissolve transition effect from the Effects panel onto the edit point between the two clips.

    You’ll discover that you can drag the transition onto the right side of the edit but not the left. That’s because there’s no handle available at the beginning of the second clip to create a dissolve that overlaps the end of the first clip without using freeze frames.

  5. Press the V key to select the Selection tool, or click to select the tool selection_tool_deselected.jpg in the Tools panel. In the Timeline panel, click the Cross Dissolve transition once to select it. You may need to zoom in to make it easier to select the transition.

  6. In the Effect Controls panel, set the duration of the effect to 1:12.

    The clip handle is not long enough to create this effect; the diagonal lines on the transition, both in the Effect Controls panel and in the Timeline panel, indicate Premiere Pro automatically added a freeze frame to fill the duration you set.

  7. Play the transition to see the result.

  8. In the Effect Controls panel, change the alignment of the transition to Center At Cut.

  9. Drag the Timeline panel playhead slowly through the transition and watch the result.

    • For the first half of the transition (up to the edit point), the B clip is a freeze frame, while the A clip continues to play.

    • At the edit point, the A clip and the B clip start to play.

    • After the edit, a short freeze frame is used.

    There are several ways to fix this kind of issue.

    • You can change the duration or timing of the transition effect.

    • You can drag the edit in the Timeline panel using the Rolling Edit tool rolling_edit_tool.jpg (click and hold the Ripple Edit tool in the Tools panel to access it) to change the timing of the transition in the Timeline panel. Be sure to drag the edit between the clips and not the transition effect. This won’t necessarily remove all the freeze frames, but it may improve the overall result.

    • You can drag one side of the edit in the Timeline panel using the Ripple Edit tool ripple_edit_too.jpg to shorten a clip, increasing the length of the handle. Again, be sure to click the edit between the clips and not the effect icon.

You’ll learn more about the Rolling Edit and Ripple Edit tools in Lesson 8. For now, make sure you have the Selection tool selected.

Peachpit Promotional Mailings & Special Offers

I would like to receive exclusive offers and hear about products from Peachpit and its family of brands. I can unsubscribe at any time.

Overview


Pearson Education, Inc., 221 River Street, Hoboken, New Jersey 07030, (Pearson) presents this site to provide information about Peachpit products and services that can be purchased through this site.

This privacy notice provides an overview of our commitment to privacy and describes how we collect, protect, use and share personal information collected through this site. Please note that other Pearson websites and online products and services have their own separate privacy policies.

Collection and Use of Information


To conduct business and deliver products and services, Pearson collects and uses personal information in several ways in connection with this site, including:

Questions and Inquiries

For inquiries and questions, we collect the inquiry or question, together with name, contact details (email address, phone number and mailing address) and any other additional information voluntarily submitted to us through a Contact Us form or an email. We use this information to address the inquiry and respond to the question.

Online Store

For orders and purchases placed through our online store on this site, we collect order details, name, institution name and address (if applicable), email address, phone number, shipping and billing addresses, credit/debit card information, shipping options and any instructions. We use this information to complete transactions, fulfill orders, communicate with individuals placing orders or visiting the online store, and for related purposes.

Surveys

Pearson may offer opportunities to provide feedback or participate in surveys, including surveys evaluating Pearson products, services or sites. Participation is voluntary. Pearson collects information requested in the survey questions and uses the information to evaluate, support, maintain and improve products, services or sites; develop new products and services; conduct educational research; and for other purposes specified in the survey.

Contests and Drawings

Occasionally, we may sponsor a contest or drawing. Participation is optional. Pearson collects name, contact information and other information specified on the entry form for the contest or drawing to conduct the contest or drawing. Pearson may collect additional personal information from the winners of a contest or drawing in order to award the prize and for tax reporting purposes, as required by law.

Newsletters

If you have elected to receive email newsletters or promotional mailings and special offers but want to unsubscribe, simply email ask@peachpit.com.

Service Announcements

On rare occasions it is necessary to send out a strictly service related announcement. For instance, if our service is temporarily suspended for maintenance we might send users an email. Generally, users may not opt-out of these communications, though they can deactivate their account information. However, these communications are not promotional in nature.

Customer Service

We communicate with users on a regular basis to provide requested services and in regard to issues relating to their account we reply via email or phone in accordance with the users' wishes when a user submits their information through our Contact Us form.

Other Collection and Use of Information


Application and System Logs

Pearson automatically collects log data to help ensure the delivery, availability and security of this site. Log data may include technical information about how a user or visitor connected to this site, such as browser type, type of computer/device, operating system, internet service provider and IP address. We use this information for support purposes and to monitor the health of the site, identify problems, improve service, detect unauthorized access and fraudulent activity, prevent and respond to security incidents and appropriately scale computing resources.

Web Analytics

Pearson may use third party web trend analytical services, including Google Analytics, to collect visitor information, such as IP addresses, browser types, referring pages, pages visited and time spent on a particular site. While these analytical services collect and report information on an anonymous basis, they may use cookies to gather web trend information. The information gathered may enable Pearson (but not the third party web trend services) to link information with application and system log data. Pearson uses this information for system administration and to identify problems, improve service, detect unauthorized access and fraudulent activity, prevent and respond to security incidents, appropriately scale computing resources and otherwise support and deliver this site and its services.

Cookies and Related Technologies

This site uses cookies and similar technologies to personalize content, measure traffic patterns, control security, track use and access of information on this site, and provide interest-based messages and advertising. Users can manage and block the use of cookies through their browser. Disabling or blocking certain cookies may limit the functionality of this site.

Do Not Track

This site currently does not respond to Do Not Track signals.

Security


Pearson uses appropriate physical, administrative and technical security measures to protect personal information from unauthorized access, use and disclosure.

Children


This site is not directed to children under the age of 13.

Marketing


Pearson may send or direct marketing communications to users, provided that

  • Pearson will not use personal information collected or processed as a K-12 school service provider for the purpose of directed or targeted advertising.
  • Such marketing is consistent with applicable law and Pearson's legal obligations.
  • Pearson will not knowingly direct or send marketing communications to an individual who has expressed a preference not to receive marketing.
  • Where required by applicable law, express or implied consent to marketing exists and has not been withdrawn.

Pearson may provide personal information to a third party service provider on a restricted basis to provide marketing solely on behalf of Pearson or an affiliate or customer for whom Pearson is a service provider. Marketing preferences may be changed at any time.

Correcting/Updating Personal Information


If a user's personally identifiable information changes (such as your postal address or email address), we provide a way to correct or update that user's personal data provided to us. This can be done on the Account page. If a user no longer desires our service and desires to delete his or her account, please contact us at customer-service@informit.com and we will process the deletion of a user's account.

Choice/Opt-out


Users can always make an informed choice as to whether they should proceed with certain services offered by Adobe Press. If you choose to remove yourself from our mailing list(s) simply visit the following page and uncheck any communication you no longer want to receive: www.peachpit.com/u.aspx.

Sale of Personal Information


Pearson does not rent or sell personal information in exchange for any payment of money.

While Pearson does not sell personal information, as defined in Nevada law, Nevada residents may email a request for no sale of their personal information to NevadaDesignatedRequest@pearson.com.

Supplemental Privacy Statement for California Residents


California residents should read our Supplemental privacy statement for California residents in conjunction with this Privacy Notice. The Supplemental privacy statement for California residents explains Pearson's commitment to comply with California law and applies to personal information of California residents collected in connection with this site and the Services.

Sharing and Disclosure


Pearson may disclose personal information, as follows:

  • As required by law.
  • With the consent of the individual (or their parent, if the individual is a minor)
  • In response to a subpoena, court order or legal process, to the extent permitted or required by law
  • To protect the security and safety of individuals, data, assets and systems, consistent with applicable law
  • In connection the sale, joint venture or other transfer of some or all of its company or assets, subject to the provisions of this Privacy Notice
  • To investigate or address actual or suspected fraud or other illegal activities
  • To exercise its legal rights, including enforcement of the Terms of Use for this site or another contract
  • To affiliated Pearson companies and other companies and organizations who perform work for Pearson and are obligated to protect the privacy of personal information consistent with this Privacy Notice
  • To a school, organization, company or government agency, where Pearson collects or processes the personal information in a school setting or on behalf of such organization, company or government agency.

Links


This web site contains links to other sites. Please be aware that we are not responsible for the privacy practices of such other sites. We encourage our users to be aware when they leave our site and to read the privacy statements of each and every web site that collects Personal Information. This privacy statement applies solely to information collected by this web site.

Requests and Contact


Please contact us about this Privacy Notice or if you have any requests or questions relating to the privacy of your personal information.

Changes to this Privacy Notice


We may revise this Privacy Notice through an updated posting. We will identify the effective date of the revision in the posting. Often, updates are made to provide greater clarity or to comply with changes in regulatory requirements. If the updates involve material changes to the collection, protection, use or disclosure of Personal Information, Pearson will provide notice of the change through a conspicuous notice on this site or other appropriate way. Continued use of the site after the effective date of a posted revision evidences acceptance. Please contact us if you have questions or concerns about the Privacy Notice or any objection to any revisions.

Last Update: November 17, 2020